Under Trump, Americans enjoyed the strongest economy in the world
Ask any middle-class, hardworking American and they will all tell you the same thing: Life today is a lot harder and a lot more expensive since President Biden took office.
In a Fox News poll released in March, 52% of voters said they are worse off today than they were when Biden took office. The reason for that is simple. Over the last four years, Biden has decimated our economy through reckless spending, overregulation and tax hikes.
His refusal to protect the border has cost the American taxpayer billions, and just recently, he openly campaigned on his platform of further raising taxes.
When you compare President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on the economy, there's a very clear result. (Getty Images)
The last eight years have been a tale of two economies, with President Trump working diligently to build a stronger, more prosperous America, and Biden doing everything in his power to bring the economy crashing down.
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Under Trump, the American people enjoyed the strongest economy in the world. From 2016 to 2020, household incomes increased, 401(k)s hit record highs, and unemployment hit the lowest rate in half a century – all while inflation remained below the 2% targeted by the Federal Reserve.
Notably, Trump’s pro-growth and pro-worker policies built an economy that worked for all Americans – not just the wealthy and privileged.
The Trump years saw unemployment rates for minorities, women, disabled individuals and those without high school diplomas hit record lows. Low-income and blue-collar workers saw their wages grow, and fewer individuals applied for food stamps and unemployment.
Not only did Trump’s economy benefit American families and workers – it was also a boom for businesses, entrepreneurs and job creators. Trump’s historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut burdensome taxes for small businesses and helped them grow. It also rewrote the complex tax code to make it easier for businesses to keep jobs local, rather than looking for labor overseas.
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Unfortunately, these reforms are set to expire at the end of 2025, with certain provisions expiring even sooner. Rather than renewing the tax cuts that brought prosperity to so many American families, workers and businesses, Biden intends to raise taxes by a staggering $7 trillion.
Just a few weeks ago, Biden boasted about his mind-boggling tax plan on the campaign trail and proudly peddled a new plan to cancel student loan debt – a move that would cost the American taxpayer an additional $559 billion and force them to subsidize households making more than $300,000.
At a time when American families are facing crippling inflation and struggling to make ends meet, this move is both callous and tone-deaf.
Biden’s reckless approach to the economy explains a lot about how we got to where we are today. In 2021, Biden rammed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan through Congress – despite warnings from liberal economists that this would set off inflationary pressures.
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Biden then continued his radical spending spree, jamming through the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the $1.2 trillion Inflation Reduction Act.
Since Biden took office, inflation has increased 19.4%, ultimately hitting a 40-year high in 2022. Today, prices for everything from housing and groceries to energy and transportation remain sky-high. Food prices are up 21%, gas prices have increased 47.8%, rental prices have gone up 20.4% and used cars are up 20.9%.
Biden recently bragged that the American economy is the best in the world. Meanwhile, American families are struggling to put food on the table and gas in their cars.
Often, we tend to view the economy in terms of grocery prices, housing costs and tax rates. In reality, that only represents the tip of the iceberg.
During the Trump years, cutting red tape and reducing regulatory hurdles became a hallmark of the Trump economy.
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From 2016-2020, agencies in the Trump administration reduced regulatory costs that amounted to almost $11,000 per American household. Not only did this reduce costs to the American taxpayer, it also made it easier to open and operate a business and create good, well-paying jobs.
Since Biden took office, he has done his best to undo that progress. As of June 2023, regulatory costs imposed under the Biden administration amounted to almost $10,000 per household. If Biden continues implementing his regulatory agenda at this speed, and if he is re-elected in November, regulatory costs could skyrocket to almost $60,000 per household.
Biden’s failures are not limited to the economy – far from it. Biden has actively facilitated a massive increase in illegal immigration.
From December 2020 to December 2023, we saw a 307% increase in illegal immigration under Biden. While this has unquestionably made our country less safe, it has also become a drain on our already fragile economy. More than 85% of illegal immigrants crossing our southern border have been released into the country.
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According to a recent study, the cost of every illegal immigrant to the taxpayer is $8,776 per year. That amounts to $72.8 billion since Biden took office – and taxpayers, of course, are footing the bill.
State and local governments are also overwhelmed by the influx of illegal migrants. Total state and local expenditures in response to illegal immigration amount to a whopping $115.6 billion – a staggering figure that could instead be spent on education, infrastructure or any number of other key priorities.
The facts are clear. The numbers do not lie. Biden has spent and regulated our economy into the gutter. Now, even as Americans struggle to make ends meet, Biden plans to raise taxes on hardworking Americans and small businesses to pay for radical liberal priorities.
As if that were not enough, Biden is forcing the American taxpayer to foot the bill for every illegal immigrant he allows into our country. It’s no surprise that American economic optimism is low with Biden at the helm.
In 2020, Joe Biden bragged on the campaign trail that he would be the "antithesis" to President Trump in terms of the economy. That is one thing he was honest about.
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David McIntosh is president of Club for Growth Action and the School Freedom Fund. He served as a Republican U.S. representative from Indiana, 1995-2001.